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Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Jerks The Pull Cord Handle Out of My Hand

This is a serious problem and can cause injury to your hand and arm! So you want to stop pulling on that pull cord immediately and have this problem inspected to determine what is causing it.

If the lawn mower has been repaired recently, the repair could have been done incorrectly. If you hit something with the lawn mower, then it has affected the timing of the engines firing and that is why it is ripping the cord out of your hand.

I fully understand this problem because I have had a pull cord rip from my hand and gouge in other hand that was on the handle bars.

Another thing that can cause this is a loose lawn mower blade. As the blade rotates, it will cause the firing to be off a few degrees and bam…that pull cord rips right out of your hand!

So as you can see, this is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. The problem will not go away or fix itself, so get your lawn mower into a shop and have it repaired correctly. Visit our Locations page for a shop near you.

Riding Lawn Mower Repair

My Lawn Tractor Won’t Start

So you are dealing with a finicky lawn tractor that doesn’t want to start when you turn the key?

That is not uncommon and should not surprise you because it is a machine and every machine will breakdown from time to time. A machine is only as good as the quality of its parts and the maintenance that is performed each year.

Let’s check some easy stuff first.

Is the battery fully charged? Does it have at least 13 volts? Do you have the lawn tractor in neutral? Do you have the clutch pedal fully depressed?

Are you sitting in the seat so the seat switch is engaged?

Those are the most common problems that cause a lawn tractor to not start. The other not so common ones are that the main fuse has blown. You can check it by finding it under the hood or near the transmission area. It is normally close to the battery. If you find the fuse has blown, replace it with a new one and that will probably fix the non starting issue.

Continue to check for power to the starter if it doesn’t and if there is power to the starter, then most likely the starter is bad. Replace it and test the lawn tractor for proper operation.

Riding Lawn Mower Repair

Riding Lawn Mower Won’t Start

It is a frustrating experience when your lawn mower will not start. You are all ready to mow your lawn and turn the key and nothing! And it is not like you have time in your day to just wait around to figure out what is wrong with it and your yard need cut.

Let’s look at some simple things that you may be overlooking.

First, is the clutch pedal pushed all the way in? Is the mower placed in neutral? Those are simple but overlooked items that will prevent your lawn mower from starting.

Another common thing that happens is people leave the key turned to the on position. This eventually drains the battery and when you turn the key to start, you might hear a clicking sound or nothing at all. Check the battery to make sure that it is fully charged. If not, charge it on a trickle charger and try again.

One final item to check is the main fuse. It could be under the dash or under the rear seat above the transmission area. Check the fuse to make sure that it is not blown. If it is, replace it and your lawn mower should start unless there is some other electrical problem in the system.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower Engine Dies After Running a Short Time

These runability problems are tricky at times to troubleshoot. Did I put good gas in the mower? Is the ignition system working properly?

Those are a couple of things that we automatically think of when our lawn mower is not working like it should. It can be frustrating to deal with those things and they must be figured out one by one.

Troubleshooting is a process of elimination. Those words alone tell so much about how to look at this problem by eliminating what it is not.

The first and easy step is to make sure there is enough gas in the tank. If that checks out fine, then move along to the next item like the ignition system. Install a spark tester and start the engine. Run it at full throttle for a while and see if at any point that the spark tends to die out. If so, there is something wrong in the ignition system. You should also change your spark plug just to eliminate that. Spark plugs are cheap so change it out.

Fuel delivery is another problem that can cause the engine to die. Is the carburetor getting the fuel it needs to run? Inspect the fuel system for blockages and such as the in tank or inline fuel filter and the carburetor itself.

By systematically eliminating these things, you will find the problem quickly. If you need professional lawn mower repair assistance, visit our Locations page for help.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower Is Hard To Start

Lawn mowers can be finicky machines. They can be easy to start one day and hard to start the next. In most cases it is a simple adjustment to make them easier to start.

This adjustment is often a valve adjustment. Over time the valve clearance become loose and will not allow the valves to open properly. If the intake valve does not open fully, a fresh charge of gasoline will not make it into the combustion chamber. If the exhaust valve does not open fully, the hot gasses will not be expelled out the exhaust pipe and it prevents fresh gas from coming into the combustion chamber as well.

An engine is basically an air pump. Air goes in and air goes out. Whenever that cycle is interrupted, it makes it hard to start the engine. Try adjusting those valves to their proper specification and see if it makes a big difference in the starting of that engine.

You should also check to make sure that the choke is working properly. An engine choke is a butterfly type valve and you close in the carburetor. When it is closed, it creates more vacuum inside the carburetor and pulls more fuel through it and into the engine. If the choke is not closing fully, then fuel will not be adequate enough for a cold start operation.

By adjusting the choke and valves, you should have an easier starting lawn mower.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

Lawn Mower Engine Not Getting Fuel

Depending on what kind of engine you have, there are numerous fuel delivery systems and we will go over a few here to see if you can find the problem.

On small lawn mower engine such as push and self-propelled units, the fuel is usually delivered by gravity to the carburetor. Anything that affects this gravity can cause no fuel to be delivered. Starting off the with the gas tank, you want to be sure that the fuel cap is venting properly. When you open it, is there an inrush of air? There should not be. Is the fuel strainer in the tank clogged up? Is the inline fuel filter clogged? Is there a clog in the fuel line itself?

If all of those things are fine, then that narrows things down to the carburetor. Something internally such as the needle and seat are stuck together and not letting fuel to flow.

On larger engines such as a riding lawn mower, there may be a fuel pump built into the system. As on the small engine, you want to start at the gas tank first and work your way down to the fuel pump. Then disconnect the fuel pump output side and crank the engine over. Have a catch can to catch the fuel that will squirt out.  If fuel is coming out of the fuel pump, then the logical thing is that there is a problem with the carburetor.

Loose engine intake valve clearances can also cause a lack of fuel to enter the engine. If all else fails, check those valves to ensure that they are working as they should.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

Lawn Mower Will Run For a While and then Die

This problem can be a mystery to you and take some time to reveal what the real issue is. You are mowing along and then the engine will slowly die on you and come to a complete stop. You turn the key or pull the starter rope and it will suddenly start up and run like it normally does. What?

This happens over and over and it is puzzling to say the least. You can’t seem to find any obvious problem and the engine has good spark. So what is causing this problem?

A couple of things that cause this is the gas cap is not venting properly. As you are mowing, the gasoline level goes down and the gas must pull in air to prevent it from vacuum locking. If the vent is plugged, it will not allow air into the gas tank and thus will not let fuel into the engine or fuel injection.

You can unscrew the gas cap and if you hear an inrush of air, then you know that the cap is not venting as it should and will need replaced.

Another problem is that you can have debris that is covering the pickup tube in the gas tank or inside the carburetor float bowl. The fuel sloshing around in the carburetor bowl can cause debris to get stuck to the main jet and stop the fuel flow to the engine. After the engine dies, the debris will sink back to the bottom and when you start the lawn mower, it will run as normally.

Check these items and if you need a professional lawn mower repair shop, visit our Locations page for a shop near you.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

What Kind of Oil Do I Use In My Push Mower?

It all comes down to what the engine manufacturer recommends for your particular engine. There are not a lot of wide variations of engine oil recommendations but they do vary with American and Japanese manufacturers.

For example, American engine manufactures normally call for a straight 30 weight conventional motor oil. Conventional means organic or just plain old motor oil. After the first break in oil has been changed, you can switch over to synthetic oil if it is a newer small engine. Older small engines such as Tecumseh or Kohler may smoke if you put synthetic oil in them.

Japanese engine manufactures take a different approach and normally use 10W30 conventional motor oil. This oil provides a greater temperature range to protect your engine. You can also switch to synthetic motor oil after the 25 hour break in time for your engine.

Motor oil brands are a matter of choice for you as the end user. It comes down a preference on price and the trust that you have in the manufacturer. I am a fan of Castrol, but it merely is my personal preference. Choose the brand that you feel is best for you.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

Can I Change the Oil in my Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Transmission?

The short answer is yes you can. These transmissions sometimes leak and the leak will need to be repaired and the fluid put back into the unit.

There are normally 4 or 5 bolts that hold the bottom cover on the transmission. Those will need to be removed and gently remove the cover and empty the transmission fluid. Next, you want to clean the cover and the transmission mating areas of any dirt, debris and fluid.

Now you want to replace the gasket if it has one and fill the bottom cover to nearly the top with 10W-30 or whichever transmission fluid your lawn mower calls for. If you have your mower on a lift, this make the job of putting the bottom cover on the transmission much easier.

Install the bottom cover and start all of the screws and then tighten them up sequentially so that the cover does not tip and spill the fluid out all over the place.

Then as they get tight, you just want to snug them up and don’t over torque them because they will strip out easily. If you used any sealant on the cover, let that dry for a day and then test drive the lawn mower to be sure there are not any leaks.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

Blade Locked Up on Push Mower

When a blade on a push lawn mower becomes locked in place and not movable, something is either stopping it from turning or the engine has seized up.

Remove the spark plug boot from the spark plug and then tilt the push mower backwards towards the handles. Look under the mower deck to see if a stick or rock has been caught up between the blade and the deck. Also check to see if the deck has been damaged and the blade is hitting it and stopping it from turning.

The turning lawn mower blade can also be bound by wire, a dog cable or an electrical cable as well as long grass or vines. Make sure that these areas are clear at the crankshaft which is normally where they get wrapped up.

If the deck and crankshaft areas are clear, then it could be an internal problem. You can try to slowly move the lawn mower blade to see if you can free up the crankshaft. If it does move, then check the oil in it to make sure that you did not run it low on oil. You might be able to add some oil and start the engine but more than likely, the damage has already been done.